The procession of Bacchus depicted on a frieze in Pompeii. Courtesy Pompeii Archaeological Park.

While carrying out excavations at the archaeological site of Pompeii in Italy, archaeologists uncovered a large banqueting room painted with a nearly life-size frieze of the sacred procession of Bacchus. Buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE, the frieze reveals fascinating details about Roman culture and the mystery cult of Bacchus.

FREE ebook. The Olympic Games: How They All Began. Read about the ancient origins of the Olympics, some 2,700 years ago. Download now.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Scene of Mystery Cult Initiation

The Initiate and Silenus on the Pompeii frieze. Courtesy Pompeii Archaeological Park.

The frieze was uncovered in the central part of Pompeii, as part of an ongoing project aimed at regenerating the archaeological and urban landscape of the ancient Roman city. Covering three walls of a large banquet hall, the frieze depicts the Thiasus (procession) of the god Bacchus, the Roman equivalent of the Greek Dionysus, the god of wine and festivity. This procession was primarily made up of women, known as bacchantes, and human-goat hybrids called satyrs. The frieze depicts the bacchantes as dancers and ferocious hunters, shown either with slaughtered goats or holding a sword and the innards of an animal. Meanwhile, one satyr is playing a double flute while the other offers a libation of wine. In the center of the frieze is a woman standing beside Silenus, the tutor and companion of Bacchus. The frieze depicts the woman as an initiate into the mysteries of Bacchus who, according to myth, died and was reborn, promising his followers the same. Above the procession of Bacchus was painted a second, smaller frieze with various animals, including deer, wild boar, chickens, birds, and fish.

The archaeologists at Pompeii gave the house the name Thiasus, in reference to the procession. Dated to the 40s or 30s BCE, the frieze connects directly to the mystery cult of Bacchus, one among many cults in antiquity that were only accessible by those who went through an initiation ritual, as illustrated in the frieze. It was only after initiation that one could learn the secrets of the cult. These cults were often linked to the promise of a new blissful life, in this world and the next.

One of the bacchantes with a goat over her shoulder. Courtesy Pompeii Archaeological Park.

According to Alessandro Giuli, the Italian Minister of Culture, the frieze “provides another glimpse into the rituals of the mysteries of Dionysus. It is an exceptional historical document and, together with the fresco of the Villa of the Mysteries, constitutes a one-of-a-kind, making Pompeii an extraordinary testimony to an aspect of life in classical Mediterranean life that is largely unknown.”

Our website, blog and email newsletter are a crucial part of Biblical Archaeology Society's nonprofit educational mission

This costs substantial money and resources, but we don't charge a cent to you to cover any of those expenses.

If you'd like to help make it possible for us to continue Bible History Daily, BiblicalArchaeology.org, and our email newsletter please donate. Even $5 helps:

View of the banquet hall of the house of Thiasus. Courtesy Pompeii Archaeological Park.

The house of the Thiasus was just one of many buildings in its neighborhood at Pompeii that included incredible and vibrant paintings. Other such examples were a large reception room decorated with scenes from the Trojan War, and a massive private bath complex with paintings of athletes and more scenes of the Trojan War.

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on September 8, 2025.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Pompeii Reborn

Pompeii Fast Food Restaurant Uncovered

A Shrine, Frescoes, and…Pizza?

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

The Destruction of Pompeii—God’s Revenge?

How to Find a Brothel in Pompeii

Climbing Vesuvius

The post The Bacchic Cult at Pompeii appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Proposed reconstruction of the second Jerusalem temple. Illustration: Shalom Kveller, City of David.

Solomon’s Jerusalem Temple is easily one of the most central and important buildings in the Hebrew Bible. However, an archaeological discovery suggests that for much of the First Temple period (c. 1000–586 BCE), Solomon’s Temple was not the only place of worship in Jerusalem. On the eastern slopes of the City of David, just a few hundred yards away from the Temple Mount, archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority claim to have uncovered a second temple.

FREE ebook: Jerusalem Archaeology: Exposing the Biblical City Read about some of the city’s most groundbreaking excavations.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

A Shocking Discovery

At over 2,300 square feet and partly dug into the side of the hill, the cultic site is made up of eight rock-hewn rooms, each containing different installations, including an altar, a massebah (standing stone), an oil press, and a winepress. The oil and winepress were probably used for preparing offerings to the temple’s deity (represented by the massebah), and the altar, which included a drainage channel, might have been the site of sacrifices. According to the researchers, who published their results in the journal ‘Atiqot, the temple was most likely built in the 16th century BCE—at the very end of the Middle Bronze Age—and went out of use in the eighth century BCE, around the time of King Hezekiah.

A carved installation identified as an altar, with a channel for liquid drainage. Kobi Harati, City of David.

According to Eli Shukron, director of the excavation, “The structure ceased to function during the eighth century, possibly as part of King Hezekiah’s religious reform. According to the Bible, Hezekiah sought to centralize worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, abolishing the ritual sites scattered across the kingdom. The Bible describes how, during the First Temple period, additional ritual sites operated outside the Temple, and two kings of Judah—Hezekiah and Josiah—implemented reforms to eliminate these sites and concentrate worship at the Temple.”

Another room of the temple featured mysterious V-shaped carvings on the floor. According to the excavation team, the carvings may have been used for preparing liquids, or as the base for a loom or perhaps a tripod structure used for ritual activities. At one end of the room, a small cave was carved into the hill that contained a stash of objects dating to the eighth century. Among the objects were cooking pots, jars bearing fragments of Hebrew writing, loom weights, scarabs, stamp seals, and grinding stones. The inscriptions may have served magical purposes or had some other religious meaning. The cave was carefully sealed before the building went out of use, which may suggest it was used as a favissa, a cultic storage place.

The V-shaped floor carvings with the doorway to the favissa behind them. Courtesy Kobi Harati, City of David.

The temple itself is quite different from other Iron Age temples. “A key characteristic of this compound is its construction within rock-cut chambers,” Helena Roth, one of the report’s authors, told Bible History Daily. This is a “unique feature compared to other Iron Age cultic compounds in the region, which are typically stone-built. While some architectural elements, such as the small back chamber hosting the standing stone, align with known Iron Age temples, the lack of an apparent eastern wall raises questions about its function. It is possible that this was a ceremonial temple, open to the valley and the opposite slope.”

Despite clear differences with other Iron Age temples, such as the lack of a tripartite structure, the researchers are still quite confident in their assessment of it as a cultic site. “This is indicated by the discovery of a massebah and its platform, the carefully sealed favissa, and the unique and significant artifacts,” continued Roth. “While no in situ finds were located due to the rooms being sealed after their floors were cleared, the nature of these artifacts points towards a centralized institution, possibly a temple.”

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Illustration of the carved rooms discovered in the City of David. Illustration: Shalom Kveller, City of David.

If the researchers are correct in their interpretation, the discovery of this second temple is shocking, not only because it appears to run counter to the biblical impression that Solomon’s Temple was the sole place of worship in Jerusalem, but there are also very few known temples in the whole kingdom of Judah from this time. A few notable exceptions have been discovered at sites like Arad, Beer Sheva, Lachish, and Moza. Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to determine which deity (or deities) was worshiped in this newly discovered temple. However, it seems unlikely that it was a place of worship for the Israelite god Yahweh, as it would be unusual to have two temples to the same deity within such proximity. Nonetheless, the careful way in which the temple appears to have been decommissioned, with its standing stone left upright, is reminiscent of the Arad temple, which is often believed to have been dedicated to Yahweh.

This article first appeared in Bible History Daily on January 20, 2025.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Searching for the Temple of King Solomon

The Doorways of Solomon’s Temple

Unearthing Jerusalem’s Millo

Mysterious Jerusalem Channels Confound Archaeologists

Jerusalem’s Iron Age Moat Discovered

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

The Missing Millennium in Jerusalem’s Archaeology

Jerusalem and the Holy Land(fill)

Jerusalem in David and Solomon’s Time

Jerusalem as Eden

The post A Second Temple in First Temple Jerusalem? appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Aerial view of the partially excavated monument at the top of Tel Shimron. The favissa is in the lower right of the complex. Courtesy Tel Shimron Excavations, Andrew Wright.

Archaeologists at Tel Shimron in Israel’s Jezreel Valley have uncovered a remarkable megastructure, so far unique within the southern Levant. Rising nearly 20 feet above the ancient mound, the cone-shaped structure is thought to have been some sort of Bronze Age monument. But what kind of monument was it and what function did it serve?

FREE ebook: Ten Top Biblical Archaeology Discoveries. Finds like the Pool of Siloam in Israel, where the Gospel of John says Jesus miraculously restored sight to a blind man.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Forging a Bronze Age Wonder

Dating to around 1800 BCE and still only partly excavated, the megastructure takes up a large section of Shimron’s already imposing tell, and therein may lie part of its purpose. While the glacis surrounding most of the site is covered with black basalt, the megastructure is covered by white chalk, which has the effect of making the already imposing feature stand out in the landscape, even from a great distance.

“We are dealing with something that’s very much an intentional, monumental thing that was designed to be seen from very far away,” Daniel Master, co-director of the Tel Shimron Excavation, told Haaretz. “We are still trying to figure out the political implications and why it was originally built.”

In addition to the monument’s potential political or symbolic significance, it also appears to have been a site of significant cultic activity. While excavating the structure, archaeologists stumbled across a large room that served as a favissa, a storage space for cultic and votive objects that had gone out of use. The over 700-square-foot favissa was originally unroofed, with thick mudbrick walls and two staircases, one leading into the room and another leading into the megastructure. Not long after it was built, the doors and staircases were blocked, making the favissa an open-air pit. Around that time, the pit became a dumping ground for religious ceremonies.

Excavating the favissa, the team at Tel Shimron discovered 40,000 animal bones, primarily from cattle, sheep, and goat. The bones showed signs of having been burned at extremely high temperatures, suggesting that they had been used for sacrificial rituals rather than meals. The team also found around 57,000 pottery fragments, including rare miniature jugs and bowls. Many of the fragments came from vessels that were typically used in temples instead of domestic contexts. Two bronze bull figurines—possibly representing the chief Canaanite deity El or the storm god Baal—were also discovered.

Ceramics and a bronze bull (or calf) found in the favissa of Tel Shimron. Courtesy Tel Shimron Excavations, Sasha Flit.

The favissa’s lack of stratification shows that it was not used for an extended period and that nearly all of the finds resulted from several events that took place quite close together, or even as part of a single ceremony. “In terms of religion, we don’t have anything like this; there are elements we find elsewhere but this is on a scale that we don’t have anywhere else in this region,” Master said.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on November 25, 2024

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Canaan’s Earliest City Gate

Digging In: Tel Shimron

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Launching Excavations at Tel Shimron

Eternal Architecture

Jezreel—Where Jezebel Was Thrown to the Dogs

The post Megastructure Uncovered at Tel Shimron appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

The assemblage of ritual objects discovered in the excavation. Courtesy Katerina Katzan, IAA

Conducting salvage excavations at the ancient site of Megiddo—famously known as Armageddon in the New Testament’s Book of Revelation—archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) uncovered fascinating new evidence of Canaanite folk worship, as well as some of the earliest evidence of wine making in the region.

FREE ebook: Paul: Jewish Law and Early Christianity. Paul’s dual roles as a Christian missionary and a Pharisee.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Canaanite Worship at Armageddon

While excavating along a nearly mile-long stretch of highway next to the site, archaeologists were surprised to discover a favissa (ritual burial pit) dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age (c. 3,300 years ago). Included in the favissa were many standard pottery vessels as well as a number of special cultic items. According to an IAA press release, the favissa was located outside the walls of the ancient city, but in clear sight of the large Bronze Age temple. Nearby was a large rock outcrop, which may have served as a sort of open-air altar. This may indicate that those making the offerings were not allowed to enter the temple precinct itself and thus had to find a different way (and place) to worship their gods.

Temple model discovered in the excavation. Courtesy Katerina Katzan, IAA.

The pottery uncovered in the favissa included a model shrine, storage jars, jugs, and juglets imported from Cyprus, and a unique set of libation vessels that included a ram-shaped zoomorphic vessel. “A small bowl, which was attached to the ram’s body, was designed to function as a funnel; and a similar bowl—with a handle—was probably held to pour the liquid into the funnel during a ceremony,” the researchers explained. “Once the vessel was filled, tilting the ram forward spilled the liquid out from its mouth to collect it into a small bowl placed before it.” The vessel, they believe, was likely used to pour a valuable liquid, such as milk, oil, or wine, which was then either drunk directly from the spout or poured into a smaller vessel. Such libation vessels are seldom found intact, offering researchers a rare glimpse into how they functioned in antiquity.

One of the oldest winemaking presses in the world, discovered in an excavation. Courtesy Yakov Shmidov, IAA.

In addition to the favissa, the team also uncovered a small, rock-cut winepress dating to the Early Bronze Age, approximately 5,000 years ago. The winepress featured a sloped treading floor and a collection vat. According to excavation directors Amir Golani and Barak Tzin, “This winepress is unique, one of very few known from such an ancient period when urbanization first took place in our region. Until now, indirect evidence indicated that wine could have been produced 5,000 years ago, but we did not have conclusive proof of this—a ‘smoking gun’ that would clearly show when this happened in our area.” Many residential buildings were also uncovered near the winepress—evidence of both the expansion of Bronze Age Megiddo and the importance of the winepress to the community.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Brain Surgery at Canaanite Megiddo

More of Megiddo’s Roman Legionary Camp Revealed

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Why Megiddo?

The Megiddo Mosaic

King Solomon’s Stables—Still at Megiddo?

The post Canaanite Folk Worship at Megiddo appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

The Urartian sheilds. Courtesy Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Excavations at the site of Ayanis Castle in eastern Turkey revealed three magnificent bronze shields and a helmet dedicated to Haldi, the chief god of Urartu, an Iron Age kingdom known in the Bible as Ararat. According to a statement by the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism, “The artifacts discovered during the excavations at the monumental temple complex in Ayanis, dedicated to the god Haldi, reflect the richness and high level of Urartian metal craftsmanship.”

FREE ebook: Exploring Genesis: The Bible’s Ancient Traditions in Context Mesopotamian creation myths, Joseph’s relationship with Egyptian temple practices and 3 tales of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

A Forgotten Biblical Kingdom

The fortress of Ayanis was one of the last castles constructed by the Urartians. At its height, the powerful Iron Age kingdom, located north of Assyria, stretched from Armenia and northwestern Iran to the Mediterranean Sea. Located around 22 miles north of the capital city of Tushpa, the castle housed a temple to Haldi, the chief deity of the Urartians. Recent excavations have focused on uncovering the temple, which is one of the best preserved in Urartu. It was in this context that the team uncovered three beautifully crafted bronze shields and a decorated bronze helmet, all dedicated to Haldi. The objects date to the mid-seventh century BCE, shortly after which the castle was destroyed by an earthquake.

Excavations at Ayanis have been ongoing for nearly four decades and have revealed much about the 15-acre fortress, which sits on a hill overlooking Lake Van. The fortress’s sudden destruction has made it an incredible site in Urartian archaeology, with the discovery of bronze weapons, royal and cultic buildings, reliefs, inscriptions, and an entire outer city. In antiquity, the site was known as Rusahinili Eidurukai after the Urartian king, Rusa II (r. 678–654 BCE), who built it.

The bronze Urartian helmet. Courtesy Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The kingdom of Urartu lasted from the ninth to sixth centuries, often fighting with its southern neighbor, Assyria. Urartu finally lost its sovereignty in 590 BCE, when it was conquered by the Medes and the Persians, shortly after those groups had conquered the Assyrians. Within a hundred years, Urartu’s former realms came to be known as Armenia.

Both the region and the kingdom of Urartu are mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, under the cognate name Ararat. It is first mentioned in Genesis 8:4 when Noah lands on Mount Ararat. Although the exact identification of the mountain this name referred to is highly debated, it likely resides within the kingdom of Ararat/Urartu. The second mention of Ararat comes in 2 Kings 19:37 when the two sons of Sennacherib fled to Ararat after assassinating their father.

This article was first published in Bible History Daily on September 13, 2024.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Where Noah Landed

The Assassination of Sennacherib

Long-Lost Temple of Haldi Found in Iraqi Kurdistan?

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Assyrian Palace Discovered in Ashdod

Gilgamesh—Like You’ve Never Seen Him Before

Grisly Assyrian Record of Torture and Death

A Futile Quest: The Search for Noah’s Ark

The post Cultic Weaponry of Urartu appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

The ivory scepter with the longest Linear A inscription known, found in Knossos. Courtesy A. Kanta et al.

Minoan Linear A is one of the most famous undeciphered scripts from the ancient world. In use from around 1800 to 1450 BCE, it continues to baffle researchers. However, a recent discovery, published in the series Ariadne Supplements, could move scholars just a little closer to finally unlocking its mysteries. The discovery in question? The longest-ever Linear A inscription, carved onto an ivory scepter found in the ancient city of Knossos.

FREE ebook: Island Jewels: Understanding Ancient Cyprus and Crete. Read the fascinating history of these mythical Mediterranean islands.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Recording the Minoan Cult

The scepter, alongside numerous other precious finds, was uncovered inside a semi-subterranean repository of a large, cultic building. The extremely fragile scepter, which was likely originally intended for display, is constructed of two separate pieces: a round ring and a handle, both of which are covered on all sides with writing. However, the writing on the ring is particularly intriguing. According to researchers, the writing, which features a staggering 119 signs preserved in whole or in part, formed one single inscription. This makes it by far the longest Linear A text ever discovered.

Although written in Linear A, the ring’s inscription is carved in a more refined style than other Linear A inscriptions, resembling the signs of Cretan hieroglyphs, which were also in use at the time. This style and the artistic refinement of the carving set the inscription apart, suggesting the object had a ceremonial use. On all four sides of the ring, the inscription is divided into smaller sections. Many of these sections include logographic symbols representing animals, vases, textiles, and hides. One side features a series of a dozen logographic quadrupeds. In contrast, another side includes ten different vases, eight of which have additional signs over them, likely representing the contents of the depicted vases. According to the team, the inscription probably recorded offerings or sacrifices meant to be used for a religious feast or ceremony.

The handle of the ivory scepter likewise included writing on all four of its sides, but in a different style and probably carved by a different scribe. This shorter inscription included more vases and animals, several sets of numbers, and a handful of Cretan hieroglyphs.

General map of the origins of various Ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean scripts. Biblical Archaeology Society.

The scepter’s ring is carved from a single piece of elephant tusk and features two holes bored through it. Across from each is a small indentation carved into the ivory. Rods were likely placed into these holes to suspend an object that was made of some perishable material. The scepter is unique within the archaeological record. However, the team identified several depictions within contemporary seals that appear to show similar objects.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Related reading in Bible History Daily

The Oldest Alphabetic Writing Ever Found?

Linear Elamite Deciphered!

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Deciphering Cretan Scripts

The Evolution of Two Hebrew Scripts

Scrolls, Scripts and Stelae

The post Longest Linear A Inscription Found in Knossos appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Aerial view of Philistine Gath. Courtesy Photo Companion to the Bible, Joshua.

Although the Philistines are well known from ancient texts, including the Hebrew Bible, and their cities have been extensively excavated, many questions remain about their culture and religion. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports attempts to provide answers to some of these questions by examining the plant remains from two excavated Philistine temples in the ancient city of Gath, the birthplace of the biblical figure Goliath.

FREE eBook: Life in the Ancient World.
Craft centers in Jerusalem, family structure across Israel and ancient practices—from dining to makeup—through the Mediterranean world.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

Gath’s Nature Cult

Examining two successive temples at Gath, which dated from the tenth to ninth centuries BCE, archaeologists identified dozens of plant species, including cereals, fruits, pulses, and herbs. While it is not surprising to find plant remains in an ancient temple, the types and quantities could tell researchers a great deal about Philistine cultic practices. The results of the study indicate the Philistine temple at Gath was likely associated with nature and agriculture. More interestingly, it suggests temple worship had close similarities with later Aegean cults, specifically the cult of Hera, the Greek mother goddess.

Among the plants identified in the temples, several stood out, including the fruit of the chaste tree. Although a local plant, the large quantity of chaste tree fruit is unique in the region and indicates its importance in Philistine cult. The only other region where the fruit took on a religious significance was Greece, where it was used in both Sparta and on the island of Samos as part of the cult of Hera. Numerous loom weights were also found in the temple, suggesting its association with weaving and Asherah, one of the Canaanite mother goddesses.

Flowers of the chaste tree. Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Researchers also discovered the floral remains of crown daisies, which are known to have been used in ancient Greek religion to adorn statues of the goddess Artemis, while flowers were also a common element in the cult of Hera. This is a notable difference from Levantine religions, whose cultic symbolism was focused more on crops and trees. The presence of the chaste tree and the crown daisy could connect Philistine cultic tradition to the wider cult of Aegean and Mycenean mother-goddess worship. The similarities between the Aegean and Philistine religions would be telling, as many scholars believe the Philistines, part of the infamous Sea Peoples, originated in the Aegean.

Other plants discovered in the temples included those used for medicine, food, decoration, incense, and alcohol. Some plants even had psychoactive properties. In addition, researchers found that most of the plants were processed on-site at the temples and, furthermore, that this processing was meant to prepare cultic offerings rather than food products for storage and later consumption. This indicates that plant processing likely played an important role within the Philistine cult.

As the lead researcher, Suembikya Frumin, told the Times of Israel,  “The study revealed that the Philistine religion relied on the magic and power of nature, such as running water and seasonality, aspects that influence human health and life.”

This article was originally published in Bible History Daily on March 1, 2024.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Who Were the Philistines, and Where Did They Come From?

Who Were the Philistines?

The Destruction of Philistine Gath

Philistine and Israelite Religion at Tell es-Safi/Gath

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Excavating Philistine Gath: Have We Found Goliath’s Hometown?

Philistine Cult Stands

Philistine Temple Discovered Within Tel Aviv City Limits

The post Plants and the Philistine Cult at Gath appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Aerial photo of the excavations at Hurvat Husham. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

Excavators with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) have uncovered what is likely the oldest temple ever discovered in the Shephelah region of central Israel. Dating to the end of the fourth millennium BCE, the temple is impressive in its own right, but also represents the birth of urbanization in the land of Canaan.

Become a BAS All-Access Member Now!

Read Biblical Archaeology Review online, explore 50 years of BAR, watch videos, attend talks, and more

Building Social Complexity

Discovered at the site of Hurvat Husham near Beth Shemesh, the building, which dates to the Early Bronze Age (c. 3300–2000 BCE), features broad walls and benches and around 40 miniature ceramic vessels that were likely intended for ritual rather than domestic use. Interestingly, the vessels appear to have been arranged at the time the building was abandoned as if the inhabitants planned to return quickly. “It is interesting that these many pots and juglets were placed here just shortly before the entire site was abandoned forever,” said the excavation directors. “You can literally imagine the people who put down this ware and left it all here.”

Near the temple, the archaeologists discovered a complex of large standing stones arranged in rows. “The standing stones were erected even before this enclosed public building was erected,” said Yitzhak Paz, an IAA expert in Bronze Age archaeology. “Their presence promises to be instructive of the socio-political process involved in the founding of the cultic service in Hurvat Husham; it seems that originally there was an open cultic activity area for the general public which then transformed into ritual activity in an enclosed compound with more controlled access.”

Removing an ancient jar from the ground. Courtesy Emil Aladjem, IAA.

Whether it was a temple or not, the building was clearly intended for communal rather than private use. This makes it one of the earliest public buildings ever found in Israel. Such public buildings are one of the clues that archaeologists look for to identify social complexity and urbanization, which first begins to develop in the southern Levant around this time. At the start of this period, nomadic and village life dominated, but at the period’s peak, large urban centers appear throughout the region, complete with fortifications, religious and administrative buildings, craft and industrial specialization, and more intensive trade with neighboring regions such as Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia.

“The site uncovered in Hurvat Husham is exceptional not only because of its size,” said the directors, “but because it reveals to us some of the first characteristics of the transition from village life to urban life. A few generations later, we already see large cities in the area, surrounded by a wall, with palaces and other buildings.”

The excavations at Hurvat Husham were launched as a salvage excavation in light of the planned expansion of nearby Beth Shemesh.

Related reading in Bible History Daily

Archaeologists Reveal a Desecrated Iron Age Temple at Beth-Shemesh

Brewing Bronze Age Beer

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library

Beth Shemesh

Jericho Was Destroyed in the Middle Bronze Age, Not the Late Bronze Age

The Last Days of Canaanite Azekah

The post Early Urbanization in Ancient Canaan appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

Elephantine cure text. Courtesy Religions Journal, Creative Common CC BY.

While the Hebrew Bible provides a great deal of information on ancient Israelite religion and Yahweh worship, there are very few extrabiblical texts that inform us about Israel’s religion prior to the Hellenistic period (c. 332–37 BCE). According to Gad Barnea, a scholar of biblical history at the University of Haifa, a new text from Elephantine might finally provide a glimpse of how Israelite religion developed after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE.

FREE ebook: Ancient Israel in Egypt and the Exodus.

Email(Required)

REQUEST FREE BOOK

A Curse at Elephantine

Dated by its script to the fifth century BCE, the tablet consists of 12 words, including a reference to the temple of Yahweh and one of the common epithets of Israel’s God, “the lion.” At first blush, the text reads as an unusual letter or correspondence regarding a tunic. Barnea contends, however, that upon closer examination, the true meaning of the text becomes clear. It was a curse tablet, very similar to curse texts that would become common a few centuries later in the Hellenistic period. These texts, which were typically written as curses against thieves, were left inside temples as a way of transferring the stolen property to the deity and thus turning the thief into a temple robber and liable to the wrath of the deity.

The small text, written in Aramaic on a pottery sherd (ostracon), was discovered during excavations on the island of Elephantine, near modern Aswan in Egypt. In the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, Elephantine was home to a thriving ancient Jewish community that had its own temple to Yahweh, priests, and sacrificial rituals. Barnea believes the ostracon may have originated from rituals performed in this temple.

“This ostracon gives us intimate and direct access to a cultic ritual as it was practiced in Jewish temples in the early Second Temple period,” Barnea told Bible History Daily. “Its short text was carefully crafted with poetic features and seems to have been a ‘template text’ used in cases of ‘curses against thieves.’”

After more than a century of research on various texts found at Elephantine, it is clear that its early Jewish community had beliefs and rituals that differed considerably from those recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Elephantine worship included polytheistic beliefs as well as a practices influenced by Egyptian religion. However, Barnea and other scholars suggest that the Elephantine community may have had much more in common with other Yahwistic communities of the time than the writers of the Hebrew Bible did.

The curse text also reveals new details of how Yahweh was worshiped differently on Elephantine. Within the text, a female figure is told to “command the lion.” According to Barnea, the female figure is most likely to be identified with a temple priestess who performed the cures ritual of dedicating the stolen item to the deity.. If correct, this would be the first known instance of a priestess within a Jewish temple performing cultic rituals. Barnea concludes, “This shows that women served in central cultic roles in Jewish temples at the time and there is no reason to believe that this reality was limited to Egypt. This was in all probability also the case in other Jewish temples, including Jerusalem, Samaria, and Babylonia.”

Read more in Bible History Daily:

An Early Israelite Curse Inscription from Mt. Ebal?

Roman Curse Tablet Uncovered in Jerusalem’s City of David

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

Did the Ark Stop at Elephantine?

Egyptian Papyrus Sheds New Light on Jewish History

The Egyptianizing of Canaan

Not a BAS Library or All-Access Member yet? Join today.

The post A Jewish Curse Text from Elephantine appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.

A study published in Tel Aviv in 2020 reveals that Marijuana residues were found at the shrine of Tel Arad. The residues from two altars were analyzed at two labs, revealing Frankincense and, on one altar, Marijuana mixed with dung. As authors Eran Arie, Baruch Rosen, and Dvory Namdar speculate, the animal dung was probably used to heat hashish (a dried resin of cannabis), enabling its effects to spread among worshippers. They conclude, “This is the first known evidence of hallucinogenic substance found in the Kingdom of Judah.”

Tel Arad was excavated in the 1960’s. As Miriam Aharoni, Ze’ev Herzog, and Anson F. Rainey noted in their 1987 article (“Arad—An Ancient Israelite Fortress with a Temple to Yahweh”, , March/April 1987), The Israelite fortress in Tel Arad contained the first Israelite temple ever discovered in an archaeological excavation. They discuss how Solomon probably built the first fortress on the site in the tenth century B.C.E.

Frankincense was known to be used as incense in ancient ritual practices, but not necessarily among the Yahweh worshippers at that time. Derived from a variety of African tree, it was a highly valued trade good. As Menahem Haran notes (“Altar-Ed States”, Bible Review, February, 1995) “Whether incense was used in the most ancient Israelite rituals has been debated in modern research.” He notes the expense and the extensive “incense route” frankincense would have had to travel to reach the ancient Israelites. The analysis of the residue on these altars is an indicator that frankincense was probably used religiously at Tel Arad.

The laboratory analysis of the residues revealed plants that were present in the shrine in the eighth century B.C.E., helping to enrich modern knowledge of the religious practices of the ancient Judahites.

This story first appeared in Bible History Daily in November, 2020

Read more in Bible History Daily:

Ancient Bronze Marvels at Magdala  Excavations at Magdala, hometown of Mary Magdalene on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, have uncovered a 2,000-year-old decorated bronze incense shovel and a bronze jug.

Frankincense and Other Resins Were Used in Roman Burials Across Britain  Archaeologists examining organic residues in Roman burials have for the first time confirmed the use of resins, including frankincense, in Roman funeral rites in Britain. In the Bible, frankincense was one of the gifts, along with gold and myrrh, the three magi presented to Jesus.

Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?  Were the gifts of the magi meant to save Jesus from the pain of arthritis? It’s possible, according to researchers at Cardiff University in Wales who have been studying the medical uses of frankincense.

The post Marijuana Found at Ancient Temple in Israel appeared first on Biblical Archaeology Society.